Electrically-controlled lock.



A.ARMEL 6v G. M. LEGRAND.

BLEGTRICALLY GONTROLLED LOOK. APrLIuATIoN FILED um. 2e, 190e,

924,126. menteduunes, 1909.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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A. ARMEL & C. M. LEGRAND. ELEUTRIGALLY ONTROLLED LOCK.

APPLIOTION FILED MAB.. 2 6, 190B.

Patented J'une 8, 1909.

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onlus P UNITED STATES PATEN FCE.

ALEXANDRE ARMEL AND cnARLEs-MARIE LEGRAND, or PARIS, FRANCE, AssIGNoRsTo sooIErE on. LEGRAND Er oIE., 'or PARIS, ERANcE.

ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED LOCK.

Patented June 8, 1909.

Serial No. 423,471.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALEXANDRE ARMEL and CHARLES MARIE LEGRAND, bothcitizens of the Republic of France, and residing in Paris, France, havejointly invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectrically-Controlled Locks, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a safety lock having an electricallycontrolled catch which can easily be operated from a distance; it isparticularly suitable for carriage doors, especially the doors ofmotor-cars, doors of I'ooms, or the like.

The construction of the lock is such that when it is adapted to acarriage door the lat' ter opens automatically without the necessityvfor operating the handle, simply under the action of the push exerted bya s ring situated in the lock when the catch bo t has been liberated bythe action of the electric current, so that the locking bolt can bedisengaged from it by the said push.

This lock is very secure for carriages, because it is impossible for a`stranger to open the door and enter the carriage, the lock beingcontrolled, for example, by a push-button situated near the driver. Bymeans of a small suitable key the door can be opened from the outside,and the electric control can be put out of action from the inside bysimply turning a small lever which also permits o eration of the lock bythe person within t e carriage independently of the electrical control.A locking cam adapted to be operated from inside the carriage andincapable of being meddled with from the outside, constitutes a thirdcontrol, in that it puts the whole mechanism out of action and preventsthe door from being opened either from the inside or from the outside.Thus this lock presents absolute safety, whether the carriage be at restor, traveling; it avoids disagreeable surprises from strangers andaccidents to children or others who may be in the carriage. Theelectrically operated catch of this lock` presents Acertainpeculiarities which render this operation absolutely oertain. One, ofthese consistsin the arrangef ment of a long armed 'lever which, when itis engaged by the armature of the electromagnet, prevents the movementof the rotary catch bolt. The action of this long armed lever is muchmore effective than that of the very short levers used hitherto inelectric catches. The rotary catch bolt is also arranged in such amanner that it permits the locking bolt being disengaged or notaccordingly as the said locking bolt is partly or completely inengagement with the notch of the catch bolt.

y The construction and operation of this lock will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, which show as an example a lockparticularly adapted for a carriage door.

'Figure l is a front elevation of the lock and the catch, the coveringplate having been removed. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the electrically controlled catch.Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the catch on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.Fig. 5 `is a rear elevation of the catch. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectionthrough the lock on line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Figs. 7 and 8 show a detail invertical section and front elevation respectively. Fig. 9 is a sectionthrough the rotary catch bolt, and Fig. 10 is a section through amodification of this catch bolt, especially applicable to locks fordoors of rooms or the like.

The catch comprises a box A containing a rotary catch bolt a turning ona vertical pivot b. The bolt is cut away to form a right angled notch inwhich the locking bolt engages more or less Y according tocircumstances. The pivot of this catch bolt ais so situated relativelyto the aforesaid notch that when the locking bolt is only partly engagedin the latter, as is shown in Fig. 2, resting against the plane surfacec, the catch bolt can turn, but if the locking bolt extends right intothe notch as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the catch bolt cannot turnbecause the pressure exerted onthe surface c both to the right and tothe left of the pivot is virtually the same. In this position of thearts, therefore, the lock cannot be opened y electrical control. Thelatter is due to the following parts At its lower end the catch boltcarries an arm d which is engaged in a claw e carried by a lever fturning on a pivot gr.v The other end of this lever is normally retainedby the armature 71. -.of an electromagnet B.= When a person within thecarriage, or the driver, transmits a current through the magnet from anaccumulator, for example, by pushing a switch button, the armature 7L isattracted, the lever f is disengaged, and the catch bolt a can beturned. If, at this moment, the locking p Aby a double turnrespectively. A

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bolt, partially engaged in the notch as shown in Fig. 2, exerts asufficient pressure upon the surface c of the catch bolt in thedirection of the arrow X, the outer edge of the catch bolt will yieldand assume an inclined position so that as the pressure continues thedoor may be forced open, the inclined plane of the surface c causing thelocking bolt t to be forced inward. lf the locking bolt extendedcoinpletely into the notch it would have been impossible to turn thecatch bolt, and the transmission of the electric current would not haveenabled the door to be opened. A spring d brings back the catch bolt andthe lever f to their normal positions.

The lock, of which the parts are protected by a casing C, is fixed onthe door. The locking bolt i may be moved by a lever j having a handle jWithin the carriage, or by means of a key adapted to engage a notch Z.in the bolt. This key may be adapted to be operated solely from withoutthe carriage. The locking bolt has at its upper part two notches ineither of which may engage a bolt 'i m subject to the action of thespring n, and

serving` as a stop. These notches correspond with the two positions ofthe locking bolt brought about by a single turn of the key or A spiralspring p acting on the bolt keeps it in the position corresponding withone turn of the key, the action of the spring being limited by the stopp.

In order to close the door it is only necessary to push it rmly; thelocking bolt then slides upon an inclined plane q formed in the box ofthe catch and upon the convex surface of the catch bolt. It is thuspushed in- Y, ward, to be returned again by the spring p so that itengages in the notch of the bolt a. It is then possible, if desired, topush the locking bolt still farther into the notch of the catch bolteither by the key or the lever j,

` and thus to render the electric control inoperative.

A cam a, which can be operated solely by a person within the carriage bymeans of a key, determines the putting out of operation of the wholemechanism, so that the door cannot be opened either from within or fromWithout. The cam u has two llat surfaces u u2 against either of whichaspringvis adapted to bear, so as to prevent the cam from moving. Fixedto the cam is a piece y adapted to be turned by a key so that the cam isturned until it engages the stop e; the latter position of the cam isshown in dotted lines in Fig. l, and prevents the movement Y 0f thelever and therefore of the bolt i.

On the side of the casing C there is an arm r which determines theautomatic opening of the door when an electric current is transmittedthrough the electromagnet B. This arm r moves in a groove s under theaction of a strong spiral spring r. When the door is I gaged in thecatch bolt.

closed, the arin r abuts against the end of a cavity t in the box A ofthe catch, the spring` r being then under strong tension. The door beingclosed, the locking bolt t' is enl'i" the locking` boli is in thehalf-shot position, that is to say in semi-engagenient with the catchbolt a, when an electric current is passed through the magnet B thecatch bolt will be liberatml in the manner already described and thelocking bolt i will be disengaged on the eateh bolt owing to thepressure produced by the action of spring 'r/ exerted. through. the armr against the bottom of the cavity in the catch box.

This carriage lock docs not require interior and exterior handles which.project as in the. ordinary carriages, since it is only necessary toprovide an electric push button within the carriage or beside the driverto determine the opening of the door. Thus it is not .necessary to soilones hands, although il' required the handle j may be used. As alreadyexplained, this handle also serves as a safety handle, since when it ispushed to the end of its stroke the locking bolt is completely engagedin the notch of the catch bolt so that the carriage cannot be openedfrom outside by a stranger.

ln the lock which has ust been described, the catch bolt has its pivotbetween the front and rear ends of the notch for the purposes explained.

When the lock is to be modified for a sta.- tionary door which must bcopened from a distance, such as a gate, the catch bolt may have the formshown in Fig. l0, that is to say the pivot b is behind the inner end ofthe notch.

Having thus described the nature of said. invention, and the best meanswe know of carrying the same into practical effect, we claim zl. Anelectrically controlled lock including a rotary catch bolt, a pivot uponwhich said catch bolt turns, said catch bolt having a face c, said pivotbeing between the front and rear ends of said face, and a locking boltadapted to engage said face to a greater or less extent so as to reventor permit a rotation of the catch bo t.

2. An electrically controlled lock, comprising an electromagnet, meansfor transmitting electric current through the said magnet, a rotary'catch bolt, a pivot upon which the said bolt turns, a notch in thc saidbolt, the relative position of the said pivot and the said notch beingsuch that the pivot is between the front and rear ends of thc saidnotch, a locking bolt adapted to engage in the said notch to a greateror less extent, an arm on the said catch bolt, a lever adapted to cngagethe said arm at one end, and an armature to the said electromagnet adaptcd to cngage the other end ofthe said lover.

3. An electrically controlled lock, comprising an electromagnet, meansfor transmitting an electric current through the said magnet, a rotarycatch bolt, a ivot upon which the said bolt turns, a notch) in the saidbolt, the relative position of the said pivot and said notch being suchthat the pivot is between the front and the rear ends of said notch, alocking bolt adapted to be engaged in the said notch, an arm on the saidcatch bolt, a lever engaging the said arm at one end, and an armature tothe said electromagnet adapted to engage the other end ofthe said lever.

4. An electrically controlled lock, comprising an electromagnet, meansfor transmitting an electric current through the said magnet,

a rotary catch bolt, a lever engaging the said catch bolt at one end, anarmature to the said electromagnet adapted to engage the other end ofthe said lever, a locking bolt, a notch in the said catch bolt withwhich the said locking bolt is adapted to engage to a greater or lessextent, a pivot on which the said catch bolt turns and situated betweenthe ends ofthe said notch, a pivoted arm carried by one part ofthe lock,a spring adapted to urge the said arm against the otherpart of the lockin such a manner that when the said locking bolt is partly engaged inthe said notch and the said electromagnet is energized the said armpushes open the lock.

5. An electrically controlled lock comprising an electromagnet, meansfor transmitting an electric current through the said magnet,

a rotary catch bolt, a locking bolt, a notch in the said catch bolt withwhich the said locking bolt is adapted to engage to a greater or lessextent, means for determining the greater and the less engagement of thelocking bolt with the said notch, a lever engaging the said catch boltat one end, and an armature to the said electromagnet adapted to engagesaid lever at its other end.

6. An electrically controlled lock comprising an electromagnet, meansfor transmitting an electric current through the said magnet, a rotarycatch bolt, a locking bolt, a notch in the said catch bolt with whichthe said locking bolt is adapted to engage to a greater or less extent,means for determining the greater and the less engagement of the lockingbolt with the said notch, a lever engaging the said catch bolt at oneend, an armature to the said electromagnet adapted to engage said leverat its other end, a pivoted cam, a spring adapted to hold the said camin either of two positions, a key adapted to turn the said cam into aposition in which it engages the said lever connected with the lockingbolt.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

ALEXANDRE ARMEL. CHARLES MARIE LEGRAND.

Witnesses:

H. C. Coxn, GABRIEL BELLIARD.

